Waheeda Rehman is an Indian film actress who has worked predominantly in Hindi films. She has also appeared in Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali films. She has been quoted as ‘most beautiful’ actress by many media channels. She gained recognition from the movie “Guide (1965)” and is known for her contribution in different genres of the films.
Wiki/Biography
Waheeda Rehman was born on 3 February 1938 (age 81 years; as in 2019) in the Chengalpattu town of Tamil Nadu, India. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius.
She and her sister learned Bharatnatyam in Chennai from her Guru Trichunder Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and Guru Jayalaxmi Alva, Doyen among ‘Nattuvanars (the person who trains a dancer and would also join the dancer in the performance to sing vocalised rhythm, known as Sollukattu)’ in Mumbai.
Waheeda Rehman Doing Bharatnatyam
She dreamt of becoming a doctor, but due to her mother’s illness, she gave up on her dreams.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Weight: 55 kg
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: White
Family, Caste & Wife
Waheeda Rehman belongs to the Dakhini Muslim Family. Her father Mohammed Abdul Rehman was a District Commissioner and died when Waheeda was in her teens. Her mother’s name is Mumtaz Begum. She has three sisters namely Sayeeda Malik, Shahida, and Zahida. Zahida is the eldest sister.
Waheeda Rehman With Sister Sayeeda And Mother
Sayeeda Malik
She got married to the veteran actor Shashi Rekhi (Screen name Kamal Jeet).
Waheeda Rehman With Her Husband Shashi Rekhi
She has a son named Sohail Rekhi and a daughter named Kashvi Rekhi, who are writers.
Waheeda Rehman With Her Daughter Kashvi
Sohail married Dechhen Pelden.
Waheeda Rehman With Her Son Sohail, Daughter-In-Law Dechhen Pelden, and Daughter Kashvi
She was rumoured to have been in a relationship with the veteran director, Guru Dutt.
Career
She made her acting debut with the Telugu movie “Jayasimha” in 1955.
Jayasimha
Her Tamil debut was with the film “Kaalam Maari Pochu” in 1956.
Her debut in Hindi films was with the movie “C.I.D.” in 1956.
Her career reached the peak with the movie “Guide (1965)”, and she became the most demanded actress of that time.
She has acted with many noted actors like Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and many more. The biggest hit of her career was Khamoshi (1970) opposite Rajesh Khanna.
From mid-seventies, her career as the lead heroine ended, and she started her career as a character actor. After her appearance in the movie Lamhe (1990), she retired from the film industry for 12 years. She made her comeback with the movie Om Jai Jagadish in 2002.
Awards
- Padma Bhushan in 2011
Waheeda Rehman Receiving Padma Bhushan
- NTR National Award in 2006
- Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards for Best Actress (Hindi) for Teesri Kasam in 1967
- National Film Award for Best Actress for the movie “Reshma Aur Shera” in 1971
Filmfare Awards
- Best Actress for “Guide” in 1967
Waheeda Rehman Receiving Filmfare Award
- Best Actress for “Neel Kamal” in 1968
- Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994
Favourite Things
- Food: Bhelpuri, Panipuri, Bhutta
Facts
- Dancing was her passion, and it was her dance that brought her to the world of acting. She was even featured as a dancer in the Telugu film ‘Rojulu Marayi (1955).’
- In the success party of Rojulu Maraayi, Guru Dutt noticed Waheeda and decided to cast her in his movie. Guru Dutt brought her Mumbai and cast her as a vamp in his production C.I.D. (1956).
- When she was going to debut as an actress in C.I.D., the director of the film, Raj Khosla, asked her to change her name because he considered it to be very long. Waheeda disagreed saying that it was her parents that gave her the name and she liked it. Raj pointed out that everyone has changed their name, from Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan) to Nargis (Fatima Rashid), Meena Kumari (Mahjabeen Bano) to Madhubala (Mumtaz Jahan); he further added that she was adamant. Waheeda replied,
I am not everyone.”
- Devanand was her favourite co-star. In her first movie with Dev Anand, she was very shy and did not have the courage to say “Dev.” Dev Anand said that he would not be able to do romance with her if she would not call her by her name. After a lot of efforts, she finally called her Dev.
Waheeda Rehman With Dev Anand
- She has done every genre of film and has played every role, right from being a teenage heroine to mother and then grandmother.
- Waheeda has played both lover and mother to Amitabh Bachchan; she has played the role of her lover in “Adalat (1976)” and mother in “Trishul (1978).”
- She loves to make ‘Savaiya,’ it is something that she doesn’t forget to cook in Eid.
- Her best friend was the actress Late Nanda.
- Even Asha Parekh and Helen are her best friends. The trio is often seen going out together.
Nanda, Waheeda Rehman, Helen, And Asha Parekh
- She considers Guru Dutt, as her mentor.
Waheeda Rehman With Guru Dutt
- She learned Urdu and Tamil from her parents.
- She likes photography and has an interest in wildlife photography.
- In the movie, “The Songs of Scorpion (2017),” Waheeda was seen singing for the first time in her own voice. The film had his world premiere in the 70th Locarno Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland.
Waheeda Rehman as ‘Zubaida’ In “The Songs Of Scorpion”
- Nasreen Munni Kabir wrote her biography name “Conversations With Waheeda Rehman.”